


12 Things

by TheBeautifulLove



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Cute, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, Relationship analysis that comes together as a full story in the end, Starts innocently and gets hotter i guess, i love calling haechan by haechan rather than his real name pls dont criticise me, i think that name suits him so much, our sun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 08:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16193690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeautifulLove/pseuds/TheBeautifulLove
Summary: Connection – Actually – Soap – Number – Reason – Wink – Argument – Winter – Spoon – Crooked – Suck – Limit12 randomly generated words. Based on each of those I wrote a short story about Markhyuck. Little excerpts from their lives from the beginning until now.(3rd person p.o.v but mostly from Mark's perspective though)





	12 Things

**Author's Note:**

> My first Markhyuck and my 2nd NCT story.  
> I love this ship so much but didn't know  
> where to start so I used those random words...  
> Hope you like it. It's pure fiction and  
> some things may not be fully accurate -  
> I only got into NCT recently.  
> Enjoy! xx

**Connection**

 Of course, at first, they were awkward.

Honestly who wasn’t back then? It was always going to take some time but thankfully they had plenty of that. Two skinny, short teens, under the same company's roof, constantly told that if they work hard enough they might make it one day.  So much in common too, they were looking to that same distant dream like a mirage, but their personalities clashed from day one. 

They were like reverse magnets. Whenever one got closer, the other jumped a step away. Especially for Mark, that distance was important, it kept him sane when his thoughts spiralled out of control. When the younger was around, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. For the first time, the Canadian felt like the steady ground beneath his feet was shaking. Haechan turned everything Mark once so firmly believed in, completely upside down. It made him unsure at best and terrified at worst. 

So, no, there was no instant  _connection_  between them but with time they got used the other’s presence, came to tolerate their differences and treasure their similarities. The disagreements, where sparks flew, drove them temporarily away from each other only to, with shy apologies whispered late at night, bring them even closer than before. 

**Actually**

Mark still stutters like that despite being basically fluent in Korean now. He can rap so fast, he has so much to say but still needs a moment when the spotlight blinds him and there are curious eyes on him. 

He needs his speech fillers, his little familiar words to avoid the awkward silence when his brain is searching for something to say. Something that won’t be too repetitive yet still broadcast appropriate. It’s hard work; he doesn’t want to be boring and people expect so much of him. 

‘ _Actually_... to be honest - it’s like...’ and as soon as it leaves his mouth he hates it but people are waiting for him and he can’t help it. It’s a habit. He ends up saying something he should, something they were probably waiting for. Nothing like what he really wanted to express. 

Yet they applaud him, agree with him and the Canadian is able to let it go for now. He lets it go along with a little relieved breath. Amongst the approving voices around him, Haechan’s is the loudest. Mark turns to the younger boy when he feels a comforting hand on his thigh. 

He smiles. It’s okay not to always be perfect.

**Soap**

For some odd reason Mark remembers the day Heachan started to wear perfume.

One day the younger leans heavily on the elder’s shoulder before some schedule, laughing loudly into his ear and Mark is about to push him off and tell him to quiet down when the new scent hits him. It smells strong and expensive. It masks the natural delicate scent of the boy Mark has come to recognise. The sudden change unsettles him.

‘Why do you smell like that?’ He blurts out before thinking, looking directly into the other’s eyes. 

Haechan is silent for a moment; he stops laughing and stares curiously at the other. ‘Um... perfume I guess. I just got it yesterday, why?’ 

Then Mark realises the absurdity of his inquiry. ‘Nothing. It’s nice.’ He saves himself quickly. The only way to know the vocalist’s reaction would be to look at him but Mark doesn’t dare, walking away, pretending to talk to Taeyong about something. 

That evening, after shower Haechan lays on his bed next to the Canadian. Mark opens his mouth to protest, tell the other to go to his own bed, when the scent reaches him and shuts his mouth effectively. Not artificial perfume but the usual s _oap_  and something familiar, something nameless but so Heachan. Comforting and safe. 

‘Why are you letting me lay on your bed today?’ He asks after a long while, slightly suspicious. 

‘Too tired to speak or move.’ Another lie because how could Mark even begin to explain the truth he, himself doesn’t fully understand?

**Number**

When Mark first comes to SM’s building, after he’s officially accepted, he meets other trainees for the first time. He looks at their hopeful, bright faces and wonders who out of them all will get to debut. He thinks they’re all good-looking enough and soon he finds they’re all even more talented. 

It’s only a couple of days later and he’s still shy around the others. They exchange greetings and so on but that’s all for now; they’re only beginning to open up to each other slowly. Despite that Mark thinks he can definitely work with them and he reckons they’ll all become friends soon too.

Mark doesn’t expect to meet any more trainees, so when the news of someone coming back from their holidays spread, he’s a little surprised but doesn’t think much of it in the end, pushing his glasses higher up his nose and going back to composing his rap lyrics. 

When a loud, tanned boy joins them in a practice room later that evening, the rapper watches curiously from the corner. Others surround the boy and call him by Donghyuck. They tell Donghyuck there is a new trainee and Mark gets up from his seat slowly but just stands there, waiting, unsure. 

When Donghyuck’s eyes land on him, his smile widens and Mark smiles a little too in return. 

Out of all the trainees, Mark meets Donghyuck – later Haechan - last but he opens up to him before anyone else, shares his worries with him first and saves the other’s  _number_  in his phone first too. 

**Reason**

Sometimes Mark wonders why he became so close with Haechan. Out of everyone else he chose that particular, annoying, cute, boisterous boy. 

After a while he begins to doubt if that’s even the right phrase to use. Did Mark ever choose Haechan? Not really, but when he thinks about it for a long time, he can’t help but smile to himself at the silly, cheesy comparison that comes to mind. The thought that Haechan is truly like the sun – too bright to look at directly without it hurting your eyes, without having to look away for a moment to protect yourself from the power it has over you, but without it you feel so cold, you need it to live. 

His soft touches like warm sun rays on Mark’s cold skin. The older wonders how he even survived without them all those years in cold Canada.

There really isn’t just one  _reason_  that they’re this close. There are so many little things that all come together. Maybe one day Mark would write them all down, instead of just keeping them there in his head.

One day when they’re much older and their singing careers are long over, Mark will wonder what Heachan is doing at this very moment. He’ll pull out a piece of paper and pen, and in his neat hand-writing like those rap lyrics long ago, he’ll write down why Haechan was the most precious boy he’s ever met. 

**Wink**

Mark thinks Haechan should not do aegyo. He should not act cute in any way and it’s a wish that’ll never come true because they’re idols and they all need to do that sometimes. Especially Haechan, NCT 127’s  maknae but Mark really hopes, for his own health, that he won’t do it that often. 

Please, no more of the cute smiles and the even cuter girl group dances. Sometimes, Mark almost instinctively reaches out his hand to stop the other but he retracts it quickly before anyone notices. He often looks down not to torture himself or bites at his lip hard when at times he simply can’t look away. 

The worst are the  _wink_ s. Too dangerous. They still fall into the “aegyo category” the Canadian reckons but the tanned boy makes them anything but cute and innocent. 

Mark normally hates these things anyway and Haechan is no exception but it seems his reactions to the younger are more intense. When he sees Taeyong doing aegyo he thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world and Winwin – the most awkward thing in the world but Haechan... Mark doesn’t know why but he wants to hide the boy from the world, he doesn’t want others to see his natural cuteness like that, so raw and exposed. 

‘It’s jealousy, Mark.’ Jaehyun states casually when he complains about it again after a particularly aegyo-heavy VLive with NCT Dream. ‘You want to hide him when he’s doing it in front of others because you want it all only for yourself.’ 

Mark only snorts unhappily in response then blushes. Jaehyun’s just ridiculous, Mark thinks so he dismisses his suggestion quickly. It’s obviously not that. It’s just not... right?

**Argument**

Little disagreements here and there, little disputes when they’re stressed and Mark’s too tired and Haechan is being too annoying. He’s used to those. He feels bad as soon as he snaps at or pushes away the younger but he doesn’t apologize. No matter how guilty he feels he never apologizes straight away. To be fair, Haechan doesn’t either at times, he waits until the late evening just before they go to sleep to say sorry, even though he knows how much Mark hates when the maknae swears at him. 

It’s okay. That’s the relationship they have. They fight a lot when alone and apologize even more when equally alone. Tired gazes fixed on each other, sitting in the opposite corners of the room as if keeping a safe distance. They apologize and stare like they’ve been apart for way too long, restless fingers longing to touch. Mark squeezes his hands into fists by his sides because he knows that what he wants is wrong. He looks away because it’s not polite to stare for too long either. 

One day a storm breaks out though, seemingly out of nowhere. This time even Mark has to admit – it's an  _argument_. They don’t speak to each other for longer than ever before. In the merciless heat of the summer, whenever their eyes meet, Mark feels like he’s burning. With frustration, with anger with... loneliness. 

He wants to come up to the younger and apologize but there is something like electricity between them, stopping him and he knows time heals. But they have a lot of wounds. Wounds that they’ve given each other because Mark’s a coward and Haechan is right. 

The worst part is Mark knows they’ll make up at some point, even just for the sake of the group and slowly they’ll forget and go back to what they were before. He knows they’ll always be just friends and he’ll always be just a coward. 

**Winter**

Haechan really doesn’t match well with  _winter_ , Mark decides when they’re rehearsing for their Pyeongchang performance. He tries to focus on his dance but can’t stop glancing to his right then left, watching out for his members. The white clouds where warm breath meets cold air and their pale cheeks make him worried. 

At least they don’t have to stand still. When they dance their bodies’ temperature naturally increases. Mark tells himself those silent facts in his head and pretends he’s not shivering. 

‘Are you guys okay? Will you be fine to perform?’ He asks in the waiting room. Heavy make-up masks their red noses and pale lips. 

‘Of course.’ Haechan confirms firmly just like Mark knew he would. Ever so brave, ever so strong. 

They go out, they perform. Out of the corner of his eye, Mark still sees them struggle with the cold but they just dance harder, like it’s nothing. 

The two of them do their usual high-five during “My First and Last” and the brief touch from Haechan is like ice, Mark notices even when his own hand is terribly cold too. He looks to the tanned boy more often from then on. When they stop for a moment, following their choreography perfectly, he sees Haechan actually shiver. 

Mark feels frustrated by he can’t do anything so he just continues, gritting his teeth. Only when they’re finally done and coming off stage he takes a good look at the other. He’s paler than usual and his lips are trembling. 

It’s not surprising that even like that Haechan is still so beautiful but Mark decides he loves him best in the summer – smiling brightly under the hot sun. 

**Spoon**

Mark watches Youtube sometimes. He monitors their performances, reads fan’s comments, watches other idol groups or foreign artists and stupidly compares himself to them even though he knows it’s pointless. But when he’s done all of that and he’s still not completely physically and emotionally exhausted, he watches fan-made videos. 

He knows that it’s not a good idea because he just ends up laughing at the silly edits, disturbing his sleeping roommate but he can’t help it. He likes to watch those videos; some of their fans have better editing skills than he could ever dream of and a better sense of humour too. He loves all his fans - the cute ones, the weird ones, the supportive ones and the ones that catch his every absurd moment, unnecessarily zooming into his face and adding those ridiculous yet completely accurate comments in comic sans font. 

So, after watching one of those videos, Mark often scrolls down to see what people say.

Something catches his eye – a comment that has too many likes for what it is. “I wish I was the  _spoon_ Haechan was licking.” Mark scrunches his brows. He’s seen much weirder comments so it’s not that what confuses him but he just doesn’t remember there being such a clip in the video. He clicks on the replies button and luckily someone wonders the same. A reply under it has a link to the exact time in the video. Mark clicks on it without thinking. 

It’s true, he hasn’t noticed before that in the background, there is Haechan eating something delicious then slowly licking the spoon in his hand before putting the object into his mouth fully to suck on, closing his eyes in delight. 

Mark swallows. He begins to understand why that comment had so many likes. The fact that he replays that short part of the video a couple of times more, for whatever reason, nobody needs to know. 

**Crooked**

He goes around the room, making sure they’re all fine. He wants to be a good leader to those guys. He pats Renjun on the back reassuringly. He smiles warmly at Chenle and helps Jisung with his mic when he sees the maknae struggle. He answers Jaemin’s last, quick questions, patiently. He also passes Jeno a bottle of water when he sees the boy lick his dry lips nervously, for which the black-haired boy is thankful. 

Then he turns to Haechan. The younger doesn’t usually need much help. He has more experience than the rest of them just like Mark has. They usually just look at each other and nod, that silent understanding and support but today Mark’s eyes travel from the other’s face down to his neckline. The Canadian laughs shortly. 

‘What?’ Haechan questions with wide, curious eyes.

Mark comes closer and takes pleasure in the other’s confused expression. He reaches out to the green collar of the younger’s polo t-shirt, fumbling with the soft material, fixing it gently. ‘It was  _crooked_.’ Mark says in English, not looking up at the other, still smoothing it with his hand, probably longer than necessary. 

‘Ky-ru-ket?’ Haechan tries out the word on his tongue, pronouncing each syllable separately, adorably. The older could never admit out loud how much he likes Haechan’s English.

Mark moves a step away. ‘Yeah.’ He thinks for a moment. ‘Twisted, out of place.’ He explains in Korean. He watches the other’s face light up in realisation. 

‘Crooked.’ Haechan repeats looking into Mark’s eyes for confirmation, for a praise. 

The older smiles softly. ‘Perfect.’ He watches the light in Haechan’s eyes and for a moment, suddenly forgets what they were even talking about.

**Suck**

Mark tries not to go to sleep too late despite his busy schedule. He values his health, he knows that without it he can’t do anything. Yet there are times it’s not really up to him, times when it’s “be perfect on stage or get enough sleep”, so of course he chooses the first. He’s Mark after all, even when exhaustion has him forgetting his own name at times. 

At almost five in the morning, he finally lays down – or more like flops down – onto his bed. He hates that feeling when he’s so tired even sleep refuses to come. He covers himself with the blanket but a headache is nagging at his temples and he whines into the soft material helplessly. At the edge of sleep, he mumbles something to himself, a confused fusion of Korean and English like his members has told him he does sometimes. 

Soon he wakes up to his alarm even though it feels like he’s just lied down to sleep. Everything hurts but what pains Mark the most is the vivid memory of his last night’s dream. He blames everything and everyone but himself for having it. He blames going to sleep late and his overworked brain and... Haechan too. 

Haechan. During the whole day, Mark avoids his gaze like the plague. How is the older meant to work with him today, talk to him normally, when every time he locks eyes with the other he remembers the way dream-Haechan looked at him? He recalls that sultry look, those beautiful eyes surrounded by long eyelashes looking down at him.

How to be normal around him when his every touch sends Mark’s mind back to the way he felt dream-Haechan touch him? The strong hands holding his wrists down, pinning him to the bed; knees on both sides of his hips and warm breath on his exposed neck, lips so close to his skin. 

Mark feels his cheeks burn whenever anyone even mentions the younger’s name today. Haechan leans on him during the break from dance practice and the rapper stills, pressed to the other who’s peacefully unaware of the chaos going in Mark’s head. When Haechan puts his head on Mark’s shoulder, he doesn’t even move, doesn’t push him away. He looks down at the younger boy whose eyes are closed, lips slightly parted. 

But he really shouldn’t have looked down because now all he can think about is dream-Haechan’s lips on his neck, on his shoulder, his collarbones... The way the other was so confident licking and  _suck_ ing like he’s done that a lot before, like he knew every sensitive spot on the older boy’s body. What’s worst is the way dream-Mark responded to it all – the little noises he didn’t even know he was capable of voicing...

‘Sorry, got to use the toilet real quick!’ Mark stands abruptly and runs away in panic, without looking back to the confused face staring after him.

He closes the bathroom door and takes a deep breath. ‘This is insane.’ He mutters to the shiny white wall tiles. 

**Limit** **(+ Love?)**

He’s just trying to eat his breakfast in peace. That’s all he wants in life right now but what he gets are Haechan’s arms around his neck. The way the younger attacks him has the contents of the bowl in his hands almost spilling onto the floor. 

‘Hey! My cereal.’ The older protests but the other doesn’t let go of him. 

‘Oh, I’m so hungry.’ Haechan grabs the spoon that’s in the bowl and stuffs the food into his own mouth. Mark just sighs and gives up. It’s way too early for this. 

All throughout the day it just keeps getting worse. He’s so clingy today, Mark feels like he’s suffocating, he can’t breathe properly when Haechan’s too close. His touch is too hot and his words are too soft in his ear and... Mark wishes the vocalist would stop telling him he loves him all the time too because... Because Mark’s not good with things like that. Because... never mind.

‘But it’s your birthday, hyung.’ The older almost wants to laugh. It’s the first time he addressed him as hyung today and it’s only to get his point across. 

‘It doesn’t mean you get to invade my personal space just because today is the day we celebrate me being born.’ The Canadian rolls his eyes. 

‘But that’s exactly what it means. Twenty years ago, on this very day you were born and I’m very happy about that.’ It’s sincere, there is no mocking, joking undertones and it makes the rapper hold back any other remark he had ready on his tongue. ‘I love you.’ Mark barely manages to avoid the pursed lips chasing his cheek. 

Everyone laughs at them while Mark gets up and squeezes himself between Winwin and Yuta on the sofa, to the joy of the first and the misery of the other. He can’t read the look Haechan is giving him right now but it makes sudden warmth spread in his stomach and he can’t look away for a long moment. 

It doesn’t end at that. It seems the younger loves playing games with him that much, pushing him to the edge, making him confused. On his own twentieth birthday Mark realises with unsettling clarity that he always pretends to hate Heachan because he actually likes him way too much. 

It’s not a ground-breaking discovery per se but it still scares every living cell in Mark’s body. The Canadian prides himself on the fact he knows how to deal with anything thrown at him yet this time... he just hasn’t got a clue.

 ***

At the end of the long day Haechan’s arms are around his neck again as they stumble tiredly to their shared room. As soon as the door closes behind them, Mark rips Haechan’s arms from himself angrily, turning to face him. 

‘What’s with you today?!’ He pushes Haechan with both of his palms on the chest. The confused boy stumbles and steps back. Mark does it again and again until the tanned boy’s back hits the wall behind him. He doesn’t really know why he’s suddenly being like this but he’s tired and overwhelmed and it’s just... too much. ‘W-why are doing this to me?’ It feels like tears are beginning to pool in his eyes but the other stays painfully silent.

Mark gets so close to him before he knows what he’s doing. He puts his hands back on Haechan’s chest, gripping fistfuls of soft blue jumper. Mark looks down, not brave enough to meet the other’s eyes. ‘There is a certain _limit_ , Haechan... There is only so much I can take before...’ Mark begins, whispers but words fail him too. 

‘Before...?’ Heachan whispers back, prompts Mark to open up to him; he’s so selfish, Mark briefly thinks. Doesn’t he see how hard it is for him? ‘Please just say it. Don’t run from me, Mark... T-tell me that what I think is real.’ 

At those quietly stuttered words Mark finally looks up. Haechan’s eyes are filled with worry, hope, longing plus so many other emotions he can’t put into words and Mark feels like a fool. He’s the selfish one here. How could he think he was the only one holding back all this time? How dare he think nothing of how the other’s felt? 

‘I’m so sorry, Haechannie, I- I’m so sorry.’ He begins to apologize like it’s the only word he knows. He thinks of all those times he pushed the other away, even when they were playing around; the times when he refused the younger to touch him even though Haechan looked like all he needed at that moment from him was a hug. 

The older hates himself so much right now but before it’s too late, before he manages to somehow mess up even more he pulls the younger boy flush against him gently and hides his face in Haechan’s shoulder. He wraps his arms around the boy’s back, not even thinking of letting go any time soon, hoping he can still make up all the times he was stupid and scared. 

‘Mark...’ Haechan starts but the older doesn’t want to hear it. He kisses Haechan’s neck briefly, just the tiniest touch, the dream from few weeks ago replays in his mind and he gets a little braver, the closed-mouth kisses he leaves on the beautiful caramel skin, linger. ‘H-hyung, we shouldn’t.’ Haechan tries again breathlessly and Mark feels the vibrations against his lips as the younger speaks. Instead of stopping, the older just keeps going, keeps kissing and moving up to Haechan’s jawline, sucking lightly.

‘We should’ve long time ago.’ Mark whispers against his skin and Haechan shivers. 

The younger doesn’t say anything else, at those words he completely relaxes against Mark’s body pressed to him and lets it all go. He leans his head back on the hard wall behind him to Mark’s pleasure, weaving his long fingers through the rapper’s black hair. As soon as Mark starts sucking on one sensitive spot on his neck, Haechan exhales deeply and moans but upon hearing the sounds he’s making he quickly bites his lip to stop himself, embarrassed. 

Mark looks up at him, unblinking and the vocalist tilts his head down a little; he feels so exposed and he knows his cheeks are starting to colour pink but Mark just thinks the boy in front of him is so perfect in every way.

‘Please, don’t stop. Let me hear you.’ Mark pleads reaching his hand up to Haechan’s face, stroking his soft cheek with his fingertips then pressing his thumb lightly to the boy’s heart-shaped lips. 

‘Can I?’ Mark hears himself ask, eyes fixed on the other’s mouth. 

Haechan nods weakly. ‘Y-yeah.’ His breath hitches in his throat and Mark thinks it’s the sexiest thing he’s witnessed. 

They lean in closer to each other, Mark holds Haechan’s chin in his one hand gently while the other is still firm on the younger’s back. He feels his heart beat faster than ever in his life, he can’t believe he’s doing this right now and even more so can’t believe he’s wasted so much time not doing this earlier. He sees the vocalist close his eyes first then he does the same and their lips are finally touching. They fit perfectly, just like Mark knew they would. 

It doesn’t feel like a first kiss. It feels like coming home; it feels like being reunited again after being apart for way too long. Mark loses himself in the feeling; he measures the seconds passing by with his own heart beats and Haechan’s increasingly louder and more desperate moans when they part briefly to breathe. 

‘What are you doing to me, Mark Lee?’ Haechan whispers when they finally stop, wrapping his arms around the Canadian’s neck, smiling widely. 

‘I should be the one asking you that.’ Mark laughs a little, pulling the boy even closer to him. 

In their badly lit bedroom, in the middle of Seoul, they stare at each other like they’re seeing one another for the first time despite knowing every detail of the other’s face.

On the firm foundations of their long-time friendship they’re building something new tonight, something even stronger and more beautiful – a tall castle in marble and turquoise and gold called  _love_. 

The End.


End file.
